News, goals, and analysis – only on the official A BOLA app. Vitinha has been nearly perfect in this World Cup when it comes to ball retention. Data from the Football Observatory (CIES) places the PSG player at the top of a list of talented midfielders, with a 95 percent success rate, ahead of Rodri (Spain, 92.6) and Xhaka (Switzerland, 86.7%). Also in the top 10 is Stephen Eustรกquio, who has been the captain of Canada, with 83.9 percent. Top #FIFAWC2026 midfielders for ball retention ๐ฆ as per @Skill Corner ๐ ๐ฅ #Vitinha ๐ต๐น 95.0% ๐ฅ #Rodri ๐ช๐ธ 92.6% ๐ฅ #Xhaka ๐จ๐ญ 87.6% #El Aynaoui ๐ฒ๐ฆ #Lerma ๐จ๐ด #Lira ๐ฒ๐ฝ #Freuler ๐จ๐ญ #Bouaddi ๐ฒ๐ฆ #Puerta ๐จ๐ด #Eustaquio ๐จ๐ฆ pic.twitter.com/t Mqs FEUazm Another aspect evaluated by CIES in this World Cup is short penetrating or breakthrough passes in search of space, with Bruno Fernandes leading: the midfielder from Portugal and Manchester United ranks first with 0.90 penetrating passes per game โ according to the organization’s definition, these are passes of less than 10 meters that leave at least 4 opponents farther from their goal than the ball that is placed behind them in depth. Top space-finding #FIFAWC2026 midfielders as per short penetrative passes* per 90′ (@impect_official) ๐ฅ #Bruno Fernandes ๐ต๐น 0.90 ๐ฅ #Granit Xhaka ๐จ๐ญ 0.89 ๐ฅ #Michael Olise ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ 0.73 * <10m passes leaving โฅ4 opponents farther from their ๐ฅ than the โฝ๏ธ #Paqueta ๐ง๐ท #De Bruyne ๐ง๐ชโฆ pic.twitter.com/t8KJ6k Kttn If both Portuguese players are performing well in their positions, how is it that Portugal still struggles to dominate and control games? This is the question that the study does not answer, but it naturally lingers.
Vitinha Almost Perfect Ball Retention remains central to this story.
Vitinha Almost Perfect Ball Retention remains central to this story.
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